Even though he won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2023 for “The Last of Us,” many wondered if Pedro Pascal could duplicate that nomination after appearing in just three of seven episodes for season two (yes, he has a quick flashback in another, but it’s effectively three). They needn’t have worried. Pascal earned his fourth Emmy nomination overall for his role as Joel Miller in the HBO hit series, which took 17 Emmy nominations despite a somewhat less-received season.
READ MORE: “The Last of Us”: Gabriel Luna says Season 2 “Rewrites the rules” for Tommy
The Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann adaptation of the popular video game repeated its 2024 nomination in the Outstanding Drama Series category and saw Bella Ramsey earn a second Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nom.
Other nominations included two Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series nominations, Joe Pantoliano and Jeffrey Wright, two Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series nods, Kaitlyn Dever and Catherine O’Hara, Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour), Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup, Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour Or More), Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling, Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour), and Outstanding Picture Editing,
The first season of “The Last of Us” landed 24 nominations and won 8, including statues for Pascal and Guest Stars Storm Reid and Nick Offerman. This year, Kaitlyn Dever, Catherine O’Hara, and Jeffrey Wright earned Guest Actress and Guest Actor noms, respectively.
Pascal will be seen next in Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” which opens on Friday, and then “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” debuts on July 25. He’ll reprise his role as the masked bounty hunter in “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and face off against Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday” in 2026.
Ramsey recently wrapped production on George Jaques’ indie comedy “Sunny Days” opposite Jessica Gunning and Neil Patrick Harris, among others.
“The Last of Us” is not expected to return till 2027 at the earliest. Earlier this month, Druckman shocked many after announcing he was stepping back from showrunner duties for the third season. He will still be involved as an executive producer.
“The Last of Us” is available to stream on HBO Max.
The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ on September 14 at 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET.
For The Playlist’s complete coverage of the 2025 Emmy Awards, click here.
